Sir MadogIf you think MR needs more content, well, pick up your pen and write an article! Add Quote to your Post
Exactly
This thread is "kvetch as kvetch can" - like may others.
C´mon, folks, let´s be fait to MR´s editorial staff and give them a break! If you think MR needs more content, well, pick up your pen and write an article!
mvlandswWhat is an "ISL"?
Independant Short Line, I think.
binder001 Over the years I have taken up the habit of "thinning" my magazines to save on shelf space. I tear out the articles of interest and eleiminate the other stuff I don't care for or don't think I will need. Yes, an MR can be reduced to a very thin magazine this way, but compared to the older issues it really isn't that terribly different in the amount of usable material. What made the magazine thinner? No big multipage ads from America's Hobby Center, from Hobbies For Men, and all those other massive ads. Further the classified ads actually used to be interesting and worth looking at plus they took up about 8-10 pages. The feature articles and layout visits seem about the same, maybe a little shorter. So we are getting almost as much "meat" and the model articles are better. They don't often explore and review modeling subjects like their "sister" magazine Fine Scale Modeler, but the are better than they used to be. FSM will occasionally run articles that include a survey of plastic cements, or comparing different brands of paint.
Over the years I have taken up the habit of "thinning" my magazines to save on shelf space. I tear out the articles of interest and eleiminate the other stuff I don't care for or don't think I will need. Yes, an MR can be reduced to a very thin magazine this way, but compared to the older issues it really isn't that terribly different in the amount of usable material. What made the magazine thinner? No big multipage ads from America's Hobby Center, from Hobbies For Men, and all those other massive ads. Further the classified ads actually used to be interesting and worth looking at plus they took up about 8-10 pages. The feature articles and layout visits seem about the same, maybe a little shorter. So we are getting almost as much "meat" and the model articles are better. They don't often explore and review modeling subjects like their "sister" magazine Fine Scale Modeler, but the are better than they used to be. FSM will occasionally run articles that include a survey of plastic cements, or comparing different brands of paint.
I do the same thing with the older magazines I keep and make the same observations. If you pare down the older magazines, the content isn't that much more than the content in today's mag.
Also, today's mag tends to use more pictures to describe theings and are less wordy. Since a picture says a thousand words, that cuts down the number of pages.
- Douglas
"Who who have thought? Of course a 1' x 12' N Scale ISL requires the same space as a HO 1' X 12' ISL.."
What is an "ISL"?
binder001 Yes, an MR can be reduced to a very thin magazine this way, but compared to the older issues it really isn't that terribly different in the amount of usable material.
I acquired a group of back issues MR from someone who was giving them away. While it is interesting to see all of the old multi page advertisements (once), I prefer the leaner MR of today.
Last years May issue was 84 pages including cover. A small sampling of recent MR issues from the past two years has ranged from 80-120. The extremes were in the last 2 months.
carl425For example, this month Jim Kelley shared the revelation that N-scale takes less space than HO.
Yep, then he goes into the explanation of why, and explains all the extra things that would have had to be compressed out of the scene to fit in HO scale. Useful to someone who is starting out and has not picked a scale, or is not deeply invested in any one scale. Yes it is an article for beginners, but MR tries to provide articles across many skill levels and interests.
carl425Could be they needed a break after all that effort they put into patting themselves on the back last month.
Maybe they wanted to celebrate the fact that they have been in print for 1000 issues? 8 of those extra pages were subscriber submitted answers to the "what is your favorite MR" question. Its quite an achievement to be around for 83 years.
Maybe you have not considered that the magazine takes MONTHS to prepare in advance and if you have a finite amount of time to work with, and only X number of staff members, and you decide to add more content to one magazine for a special celebration, either preceeding or folowing issues will end up a bit thin.
I'll make a comparison to something else to explain this better. Assume for a moment that this is 1925 and you are designing a new battleship for a world power. There are three big things to consider a triad if you will. Speed, armor thickness, and gun size. Due to laws of phyisics you get to pick 2. Fast forward to 2016. You are the editor of a magazine. You want to celebrate the 1,000th issue of your magazine that has been a cornerstone of a hobby for the better part of a century. Your staff must work continuously to make deadlines for each months article so that it can go to press. If you increase the size of the magazine one month, other things have to give (article quality or number of articles in months that bracket that extra long month) to conteract that a lot of time was spent putting together the special edition.
Unless you are suggesting that the editorial staff should have worked nights and weekends away from their families for free (cant raise cost and hire extra people) so that you could have 10 extra pages of magazine to read this month.
Personally I thought there were several good articles this month. I especially liked the cover photo and associated article.
Maybe you should write an article.
binder001 Over the years I have taken up the habit of "thinning" my magazines to save on shelf space.
Over the years I have taken up the habit of "thinning" my magazines to save on shelf space.
I don't think that's what is going on here. Ok, just kidding!
What made the magazine thinner?
That is the 64 thousand dollar question here. You have two choices, 1) Content, and 2) advertising. Someone would have to run a statistical sampling over a sample of current magazines and of past, say 1990's magazines to really answer that question. Anybody up for that mission?
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Who who have thought? Of course a 1' x 12' N Scale ISL requires the same space as a HO 1' X 12' ISL..
The true difference is how much more one can have on a 1' x 12' N Scale ISL versus the HO 1' X 12' ISL.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
When I look at old copies of magazines, I find the ads and the "non-content" material to be as interesting as the articles. So, I like to save the whole thing. Of course, I'm one of those who looks at and even reads the advertising in MR. Every other magazine is full of ads for diet products, cars and clothing. At least there is one magazine where pretty much every ad is targeted at me.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
carl425 For example, this month Jim Kelley shared the revelation that N-scale takes less space than HO.
For example, this month Jim Kelley shared the revelation that N-scale takes less space than HO.
LOL. What is it we say to that? Thank's captain obvious?
Yes, I realize MR magazine is considered a magazine which, among other things, tries to appeal to new hobbyists - but really?
Printing appears to be tinier.
The thread on the May issue brought this thought to mind...
My digital copy is pretty thin also - 80 pages. Could be they needed a break after all that effort they put into patting themselves on the back last month.
It seems like every month it takes less time to flip through and read the interesting content. For example, this month Jim Kelley shared the revelation that N-scale takes less space than HO.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.